Vaccination Drive Gains Huge Momentum
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-06-21 14:01:20
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
In an excellent piece of news on the first day of free vaccination for all, the government today said that over 69 lakh people were vaccinated all over India till evening. A later report put the figure at 75 lakhs. This means that the scaling up has begun. Till now, India was administering 35 lakh doses per day. On June 20, only 30 lakh doses were given. Hence today's figure is a huge scale up. It was estimated that India will have to jab 1 crore persons daily if it is to achieve full vaccination for all eligible candidates by December. With 69 lakh (or 75 lakh) jabs done today, it means that I crore a day is achievable with a little extra effort. It all depends on the availability of the vaccines.
With the government saying that it has paid substantial advance to vaccine makers so that they can upgrade their manufacturing facilities and has placed orders as per requirement, it is expected that the supply of vaccines will not be a problem from the middle of July. The government will now have to decide the ratio in which the first dose and the second dose will be administered.
Experts have said that it is important to give the first dose fast to target groups. They say that giving the first dose to a large number of people ensures that even if they are infected, the infection will not threaten their lives. But on the other hand, it is also important to give the second dose to those who have taken the first dose in time. The government has already faced flak for increasing the gap between the two doses in the case of Covishield. Now it must ensure that it is maintained and doses are available and prioritized for the second dose.
If India is able to fully vaccinate at least 60-65 percent of its eligible population by November-December, there is a huge chance that the war against the virus will be won. That is what India is aiming for and given that it achieved 69 lakh (75 lakh) jabs today, the target is achievable.
